Episode description
Episode description
Steroid use will be out in the open at the Enhanced Games, and testosterone won't be banned. But is it taking away from the sport?
The Enhanced Games aim to test the limits of drug-assisted human potential
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced Games, but he won't start taking performance-enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition.
The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had plenty of interest since he's come on board.
"Not all those athletes can be named at this stage, because some of them are still competing, some of them are in negotiations."
Enhanced, which has been dubbed 'the dope Olympics', was founded by billionaire Aron D'Souza, and is backed by investors including Peter Thiel (the co-founder of PayPal, who was controversially granted New Zealand citizenship).
The plan is to host an event with competitions in athletics, aquatics, gymnastics, strength and combat. Exactly when and where this will happen is yet to be determined, and if the International Olympic Committee had a vote, it wouldn't happen.
The current boss of the Australian Sports Commission, Olympic great Kieren Perkins, says the games are borderline criminal, and someone will die if they go ahead - he doesn't think they will actually happen.
Former Olympian Ben Sandford, who represented New Zealand in skeleton, tells The Detail he's also against such an event, and believes the finer details of where and when it takes place may be a challenge.
"Where do you hold this event?" he asks. "In some countries that's going to be easier than other countries just because of the way anti-doping rules or anti-doping legislation is in those countries."
Doping in elite sport has long been banned, though Magnussen says that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
"During my career I was well aware that there were athletes that were skirting those rules, and countries that were doing the same.
"Every Olympic athlete knows that they're competing against certain athletes that are cheating.
"That's just part and parcel I think of why this is a really interesting concept because some people say cheating, but cheating is actually already prevalent in clean sport, so this may be the first time in history there truly has been an even playing field where things are open and honest rather than done in the shadows."
For Magnussen, the draw to compete is three-fold. …